Field Test: Best New Backpacking Gear for 2014

Eric Conn
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July 11, 2014

As our bush plane bounced and rolled through the thick turbulence of a warm spring day in the Idaho backcountry, I stared several thousand feet down on the mountainous terrain and tried to prepare myself for what lay ahead.

After flying in to a remote wilderness landing strip in the Northern part of the state, a friend and I would hike some 30 miles out to the nearest trailhead and hunt black bears up and down the jagged canyon walls along the way. We'd have as our only guide the mighty Selway river, roaring with the new life of snow melt and marking the way to our final destination.

The trip was epic. We finished the six-day journey without a bear, but it was still one of those rare trips of a lifetime you won't ever forget. It was also a great opportunity to test some of the best new camping and backpacking gear for 2014. When you're 50 miles from the nearest road or motorized anything, there's a ton of pressure for gear to perform — and not a lot of room for failure. Fortunately, you can read about how the gear did before ever setting a foot in the wild.

Everything we've listed here was a top performer and would make an excellent addition to your gear portfolio. Here's to your next adventure.

backpacking-gear-2014

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